First off, congrats to Jimmie Johnson.  Even though I rooted for Carl Edwards the whole time, Johnson raced like a true champion all throughout the playoffs.

One of many reasons I didn't want Jimmie to win a third straight Championship is because he would be compared to Cale Yarborough.  I really don't think J.J. deserves as much credit as the racer from four decades ago because of the way he earned his Titles.  Each year, Jimmie has done exactly the same thing: start off slow, win a couple of races, propel his way into the Chase, and dominate the last ten races.  Whereas, Cale didn't have that pretty alternative.  The eminent veteran had to race all out all year and didn't have too many mulligans.  The reason that racers like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. weren't able to pull off the trifecta is because the Chase didn't exist back in those times.

The Chase has actually made it easier on the drivers instead of more challenging.  Johnson is the perfect example.  The old points format didn't allow for any late season peaking; if a racer got too far out ahead in points, the rest of the drivers were toast.  So what I am saying is that if it weren't for the Chase, Johnson might only have one Championship instead of three, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.  Jeff Gordon would have won the Cup last year, and Kyle Busch would have won it this year.  I like a variety of Champions instead of the same one over and over.  The Chase was designed intending to create more excitement in our sport.  Lately, in my opinion, it has had a reverse effect.

There has been much talk in the past couple of months on whether Jimmie Johnson has surpassed Jeff Gordon.  The record books sure say so, and it is easy to think so.  I used to think so, but after much thinking, my mind has arrived at the truth.  Jeff Gordon probably would have three consecutive Championships if the Chase existed back in the '90's.  He managed to get two in a row but couldn't pull off the third one because he didn't have the nice addition of the Chase.  Really, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon should be ranked equally in the history of this sport.

After this occurence, I have decided that Chase champions shouldn't be compared with past champions before the Chase came into existence.  It just isn't fair to a guy like Cale.  I bet he is thinking the same thing I am and was rooting against Jimmie just as much as I was.  What drives me to extreme frustration is when I heard the number 48 crew talking about a fourth consecutive Championship.  That is about the only thing that could make me want to boycott NASCAR.  Johnson has made the seasons monotonous and has brought down the ratings.  Also, it would be totally unfair to Yarborough.

So, if you were to ask me if the Jimmie-Cale comparison is legit, I'd reply, "No, it is not because of the new Chase format."

                                             

The Championship is pretty much in the hands of Jimmie Johnson as he dominated all day and night in the Valley of the Sun.  All of the excitement about Carl Edwards making a comeback has vanished as he is trailing Johnson by 141 points.  It was a typical Jimmie Johnson race on Sunday; qualify on the pole, lead the most laps, and win the race.  To me, it isn't too exciting when the number 48 car is out front because no one stands a chance.  He is always one step ahead of the rest of the field.  Phoenix has become one of his best tracks with his long streak of wins.  I used to say that Carl Edwards could come back and win the Cup, but now, even I have realized reality.   This man is going to rewrite the record books and be a legend in our sport.  In my opinion, J.J. is NASCAR's current generation "King" of the sport.

Carl Edwards did all he could but still came up short.  It was indispensable to his Championship hopes that he finished far ahead of Johnson, but Carl ended up in fourth.  Edwards even had lots of help at the end of the race with the debris cautions.  The point of many of those cautions was to give Carl a chance against NASCAR's top dog.  But if Edwards couldn't keep up, too bad so sad.  He may win the race at Homestead; it will take a miracle though for him to win it all.  I hope he can do it, but as I said, I have realized the truth.

To the Dog Pin

I've got to dog ABC.  Who wouldn't?  They have proved to us all that their priorities are on America's Funniest Home Videos instead the end of a playoff NASCAR race.  If they're going to cover the race, then, they need to cover the whole thing.  Most networks stay until the end of a sporting event no matter how late it goes.  I don't care how late it goes or what programming is scheduled after it.  Man, I wish FOX got to cover more of the racing season.  It seems as if their section just flies by and ESPN/ABC's goes on for years.

That race seemed like it would never end.  It started in the afternoon and ended at dark.  Those day to night races always seem longer.  I'll be glad when the checkered flag flies next week in Miami; our racing season is way too long.
                                                          

Carl Edwards has become all of our hope to stop Jimmie Johnson from a third straight Championship.  After struggling at Talladega and Charlotte, Edwards has now raced back into Title contention with two dominating performances in a row.  The driver of the number 99 car swept the Texas races this year.  History has proved its accuracy as Carl won Atlanta and Texas back-to-back.  He and his crew chief Bob Osborne make another phenomenal call to not pit for fuel in order to close Johnson's lead.  That right there shows us how much motivation and fire Edwards has to win this Championship.  He will do whatever it takes and fight through any perilous situation.  I am all for Carl winning it all for the first time ever.

The past couple of racing seasons have seemed pretty redundant.  Jimmie Johnson points races for the first 26 races and slips into the Chase.  Then, in the playoffs, he blasts by everyone and cruises to Cup after Cup.  Somebody has to stop this, and Carl Edwards is in the position to end the streak.  I am not saying it is going to all work out though.  Jimmie Johnson has won the past two Phoenix races and is a conservative racer at Homestead.  Johnson has the luxury of taking it easy and being circumspect.  For Edwards, it is going all out and fighting like a madman.  He has acted like a madman with last lap moves like the one at Kansas and fuel mile gambles as we have seen many times.  In order for Carl to pull it off, the final two races have to play out identical to this one: Carl Edwards leads the most laps and wins; Jimmie Johnson struggles and finishes outside of the top 15.  Finishing one spot ahead of J.J. like last week at Atlanta won't cut it for "Cool Carl".  This race could result as a runaway or be down to wire until the checkered flag waves in Miami.  The outcome of this long season rests in the hands of Carl Edwards.

"Second is like a win for me here at Texas."

"Second is like a win for me here at Texas."  This is how Jeff Gordon looks at the 1.5 mile speedway just outside of Fort Worth.  He has never won at The Great American Speedway and had a terrible finish of 43rd back in the spring.  I thought that would all change today.  I thought he had a strong enough of a car to get it done from the pole.  Once again, I was wrong as he did the fuel mileage gamble at the end and got second spot.  The clock is ticking: two more chances for the famed racer before he is shut out for the first time since who knows when...

Young and Wrestless

These are some nicer words to describe David Gilliland after he suddenly took out Juan Pablo Montoya on the backstretch at Texas.  It was a move that he could not possibly defend.  Obviously, it was an intentional knockout which is completly unacceptable.  NASCAR needs to definitely ban him for the last two races and might need to take further action going into 2009.  I cannot image how painful that hit was for Montoya.  He has had bad luck two weeks in a row.  Juan's last palm reading probably wasn't too pretty...

                                    

 

 

Texas Motor Speedway- Fort Worth, TX.  This week NASCAR heads to "The Great American Speedway" for 500 grueling miles starting at day and ending at dusk.  TMS has treated us viewers to some great American finishes. Think back to '04 when Elliott Sadler beat Kasey Kahne side by side at the line or last year when Jeff Burton made a last lap pass on Matt Kenseth.  This is racing at its best in the Lone Star state.

Even though Carl Edwards won the race last week, all of the talk has been about Jimmie Johnson.  Doesn't that seem a little unfair?  Edwards has more wins that Johnson, but Johnson gets a lot more credit.  I must say though J.J. deserves big credit after his remarkable comeback at Atlanta.  He very well could be in victory lane this week at Texas; Jimmie is the defending Champion of this race last year and finished second back in the spring.

I bet Carl Edwards is praying that Jimmie Johnson has a stumbling block.  The driver of the number 48 car very well could lock up his third straight Title next week at Phoenix.  Edwards has run strong at Texas in the past, and numbers show that he more than likely will win this race.  The driver who has won the fall Atlanta race has repeated the next week at Texas for the past three straight years.

Jeff Gordon is winless after 33 races for the first time in many years.  His tough year is almost over, but he isn't going down without a fight.  Back in Fort Worth this April, he finished 43rd for only the second time his career.  Jeff's pugnacious adrenaline has gotten him his first ever pole at Texas, and it may get him his first even win there as well.  This track and Homestead two he has always struggled on.  It just seems like this is his week though.  Gordon has run extremely well the past couple of races as he is edging closer to the moment.  Will the eminent driver be jumping for joy in a cowboy hat on Sunday or sobbing back in his motorcoach?

Another man looking for his first victory this season is Matt Kenseth.  He finished runner-up back at the Monster Mile and dominated last week in Georgia.  Texas has provided him with a win and many top ten finishes.  Maybe the 2003 Cup Champion will be the "last man standing (as ESPN/ABC's song says)" on Sunday in cowboy country.

Jeff Burton's Championship hopes are virtually over after two horrendous weeks at Martinsville and Atlanta.  "The Great American Speedway" has always been good to him with two wins and three straight top ten finishes.  Will he get back on track this weekend or sink even deeper into the trench?

                 

The Pep Boys Auto 500 was a typical, Sunday afternoon boring 1.5 miler race until the very end.  In the last 20 laps, Carl Edwards made a phenomenal, outside pass on race leader Denny Hamlin.  It looked as if he just flew by him.  Afterward, the driver of the number 99 car soared to his 7th win this season.  He said that he needed to come out and dominate the race, and he did just that.  Carl led every lap he could and never backed down.  Toward the beginning of the event, he was racing Jimmie Johnson as if it were the final ten laps.  Before the race, Edwards and Biffle had discussed about how crucial it was to keep Johnson out of the lead.  For the other Chasers, it is critical to salvage every point possible over J.J.  Don't be surprised if Carl Edwards goes out next week and wins Texas as well.  He has the car and team to win the Championship, but the poor finishes at Talladega and Charlotte have made his chances slim.

This week we have all been talking about how Jimmie Johnson needs to have a terrible finish to tighten up the Chase.  After rained out qualifying, Jimmie got the best pit stall and starting position and led the early portion of the race.  Then, mid-race, most of us were jumping for joy when Johnson got the drive-through speeding penalty for too fast entering the pits.  He dropped to about 30th position, and we all thought this was the week the Chase desperately needed.  Of course though, we were all wrong when we witnessed a remarkable comeback by the number 48 team.  On the final caution, Chad Knaus made the call for Jimmie to come down for four tires since he was back in about eighth place.  That was an excellent call by Mr. Knaus.  In the final ten laps, he raced his way from about eighth position all the way to second.  He was practically flying by a car a lap.  On the final lap, J.J. about wrecked Denny Hamlin while passing on the outside.  If the race were ten laps longer, Johnson probably would have won the event.  That comeback has everyone's head buzzing and was the move of a Champion.  All of us though his points lead would shrink this weekend because of his troubles, but instead, he just got a bigger lead.  Jimmie probably will be able to lock up the Cup at Phoenix if he keeps racing the way he has been.  As much as I hate to say it, Jimmie Johnson deserves to win his third straight Championship and become a legend in this sport.

Third place finisher Denny Hamlin also had a great day and resulting in his best ever run at Atlanta.  He must have felt devastated about losing two spots at the end after leading so many laps.  I'm glad he is doing well again after that incredibly hard crash back at Talladega.  Even though he is out of Title contention, Denny giving it everything he has each and every week.

Matt Kenseth had the dominating car for most of the day as he led the most laps.  He is another guy that is out of Championship contention but hasn't let down in the least bit.  Kenseth has some good tracks coming up in the next couple of weeks and is still looking for that first win of the season.

The Busch brothers both had good finishes and got back on track after two terrible finishes last week at Martinsville.  After being a baby last week, Kurt Busch showed his manlyhood at Atlanta and had a car capable of taking the checkered flag.  Overall, this has been one of the worst years in Kurt's racing career.  He rarely can get a top ten finish and lucked out with a rain win.  Ever since he left Roush, he hasn't been the same.

Moving from the Heroes to the Dog Pin

Jeff Burton's Championship hopes are now over after two bad weeks in a row.  His terrific work at Charlotte has been undone.  Burton claimed that drivers have to win races in order to win a Championship, but drivers also have to finish solid every single week in the playoffs to win a Title.  We all had hope that the likeable veteran may finally get what he deserves.  Now though, our hope has vanished for this year.  His only hope comes next week in the Lone Star state.

On Sunday, Michael Waltrip made his 1,000th big series NASCAR start.  He was running well at the start of the 500 miler, but his good fortunates went bad in a hurry.  At the end of the race, Michael just needed to be parked.  I mean, come on; the man brought out the last two cautions of the race.  I don't think a driver that bad even deserves to be out on the track.  This start in Atlanta has reflected what Waltrip's racing career had been like since he left DEI.

NASCAR's Issues

NASCAR better rack their brains like crazy over the offseason.  This was the tenth time qualifying has been rained out and the third week in a row (a new NASCAR record).  Lining up by points just isn't fair for the other 42 drivers who aren't the points leader.  That number one pit stall helps a driver drastically as well as the clean air from starting on the pole.  Even Jimmie said that he would rather qualify and start around fifth and sacrifice the pole position because some Chase contenders may qualify toward the back of the pack.  Drawing positions of the top 43 drivers in the fairest way to settle the issue.

While watching the race on Sunday, I noticed their were an incredible amount of debris cautions.  Is it just me or is NASCAR wanting to tighten up the field?  I just find it hard to believe that the race would have to be slowed down that many times.

So far, this Chase has been really monotonous just as it was last year.  It has been total Jimmie Johnson domination all the way to Homestead.  NASCAR needs to come up with a better points system that emphasizes winning during the Chase and keeps the Top 12 closer together through the postseason.  Ever since they started receding the field by wins is when the Chase got boring.  It was exciting when they receded the guys five points apart.

That's all for now.